Okuzeka
Music vocabulary · Performance and Practice

Ear training

Meaning in music, with examples

nounCommon term

In music, ear training means: Practice in recognising, remembering and reproducing musical sounds and relationships by listening, including rhythms, intervals and harmonies.

In Turkish: kulak eğitimi, işitme eğitimi

How it is used

Used in music courses and personal practice. Tasks include singing back a phrase, identifying chords and writing down a rhythm heard aloud.

Example sentences

  1. Our ear training class began with clapping back a rhythm the teacher played once.

    The students rely on listening and memory rather than reading a written pattern.

  2. She added chord recognition to her ear training routine before joining the jazz group.

    The new exercise prepares her to identify harmony while playing with others.

Common collocations

  • ear training exercise
  • ear training class
  • ear training routine
  • intervalThe distance in pitch between two notes, named by counting letter names and checking the number of semitones, such as a major third or a perfect fifth.
  • rhythmThe pattern of long and short sounds and silences in music, and how they are placed in time against the beat.
  • harmonyThe sound of different notes heard together, and the way chords are built and connected. It also means a second vocal line sung above or below the melody.

More terms: Performance and Practice

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: